Tech leaders ramp up lobbying

Seventeen of the country’s biggest tech companies shelled out a combined $21 million last quarter to push congressional lawmakers and federal officials on a wide range of issues — from patent reform to privacy to broadband regulation.

The $21 million these companies spent from April through June represents a decline from more than $27 million that the firms dished out in the first quarter, which ended in March. But some experts say the numbers will pick up again toward the end of the year — especially as tech issues become more prevalent on Capitol Hill.

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“Spending on tech lobbying is likely to increase for two reasons: Companies are facing the prospect of higher taxes and new regulations that could impact their bottom lines, and lobbying budgets of these companies have weathered cuts during the recession and the purse strings are finally being loosened,” said Ralph Hellmann, senior vice president for government relations at the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents companies such as HP, IBM and Microsoft.

Here’s a breakdown of how much companies spent in the second quarter, rounded to the nearest thousand, according to disclosures filed by midnight Tuesday: